(Left to right) Kellin Hanas (tpt), Lauren Pierce (eb), Janelle Finton (tpt), and Karli Bunn (ts). Fulton Street Collective, 2/27/25. Photo by Dominic Guanzon.

By Dominic Guanzon

Thursday, 2/27/25

A ride-or-die is something you should never take for granted. If the vibes match and stay aligned, even when things get crazy (either by chance or by design), you’ve got something special. I had never met Kellin Hanas or Janelle Finton before this show, and still haven’t properly, but their pairing exudes a comfort with one another that comes with a ride-or-die. Their show at Fulton Street Collective, Trumpetpalooza, was a celebration of this friendship rife with humor, but also equal parts sentimentality. It’s a blend that lends itself well to their (at least online) personas.

Kellin Hanas is a self-professed comedian, going so far as to label herself as such on her website with equal-sized font along with “Trumpeter” and “Composer.” Her original composition sarcastically memorializing her time at McDonalds might be the best example of this. Throughout the night she would commit to monologues analogous to mini standup monologues and bits between solos.

“I want you to look to your left,” Hanas told the crowd in a sassy-yet-serious voice as she wore a tiara, pianist Nicholas Olynciw vamping behind her, “Do it. Look to your left. Now you look to your right. What do you see? A person? No, you see a friend…I think the spirit of friendship is here with us tonight.”

Friends Karli Bunn and Lauren Pierce joined as well to accentuate the friendship theme, making sure to strike a pose with the pair during hits on the in head.

(Above) Hanas and Finton don tiara and witch’s hat, respectively. (Below) They play “For Good” from Wicked. Fulton Street Collective, 2/27/25. Photo by Dominic Guanzon.

Janelle Finton, on top of being a burning soloist and trumpeter like her counterpart, is a vocalist whose airy soprano aesthetics wring every ounce of sensitivity out of her performance.

It what may have been the emotional high point of the night, and they ended with “For You” from Wicked, Finton took to the microphone to sing the Carpenters’ “(A Place To) Hideaway” while Hanas took over on piano to back her.

Being a fan of the Carpenters’ signature sibling sentimentality, I could not have imagined a more perfect tune to underscore this duo. Find yourself a friend who looks at you the way these musicians look at each other, and obnoxiously post “THANK YOU FRIENDSHIP” in each other’s Instagram posts. Find it, and work as hard you can to keep it.

Janelle Finton (back, flg) plays “(A Place To) Hideaway” while Kellin Hanas (front, p) accompanies on piano. Fulton Street Collective, 2/27/25. Photo by Dominic Guanzon.

Trumpetpalooza is:

Janelle Finton (tpt, flg, voc)

Kellin Hanas (tpt, voc)

Featuring: